Menengai Hill secondary school is situated ten to fifteen minutes outside of Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley Region of Western Kenya. Mrs. Nancy Wambui Wambugu established the school in January 2009. Prior to this time pupils leaving Menengai Hill primary school who desired further education at secondary school level were forced to enroll at schools in different areas. The lack of water was identified as the most important challenge faced by the school, not only was this a problem in itself but it negatively affected the school’s progress towards its other goals. Without the ability to store a substantial quantity of water the school had to purchase water from ‘Kagoto Water Suppliers’, costing 10,000ksh for each delivery of 10,000litres. During summer months the school required a delivery of 10,000litres every week to meet its demand and on average was spending 200,000 – 250,000ksh per year. Since the opening of the school in 2009 the money that has been spent on water could have been used to develop many of the other improvements desired by the school such as classrooms, school lunches, bursaries etc.

The project requested by the school was the construction of a permanent (stone-built) water tank. By constructing a 70,000litre water tank the drinking, cooking, sanitation and agricultural needs of the school can be met. Other activities, besides the construction of the tank itself include; the guttering of the classrooms, the irrigation of land for agriculture, the planting of 100 cypress trees, and planting further food stuffs including a banana grove and an area of mixed vegetables such as spinach, carrots and onions. There was a range of benefits provided by the installation of the 70,000litre tank, these were as follows;

1. The ability to harvest enough rainwater from the roof tops of the classrooms to meet the school’s total need in relation to sanitation, lunch provision, thirst and agriculture (and the financial savings made to the school).
2. The ability to store a sufficient amount of water to meet the school’s needs throughout a period of drought.
3. The ability to cultivate a larger area of land for agricultural purposes.
4. An improved school environment.